


5 Times Sherlock Said "I Love You" And 1 Time John Said "I Love You, Too"

by johnwatso



Category: Sherlock (TV)
Genre: 5 + 1, 5+1 Things, Angst, Canon Compliant, Happy Ending, M/M, Pining, finally saying "i love you", tarmac scene, tarmac scene alternate ending
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2014-10-18
Updated: 2014-10-18
Packaged: 2018-02-21 16:52:50
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 660
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/2475494
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/johnwatso/pseuds/johnwatso
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>"My entire existence before that moment was meaningless. I smiled at you, though my eyes teared up. You nodded, ever the stoic soldier, my John, and repeated, “I love you, too,” even though you knew I heard you."</p>
            </blockquote>





	5 Times Sherlock Said "I Love You" And 1 Time John Said "I Love You, Too"

**Author's Note:**

> This 5+1 was inspired by a gifset I saw on Tumblr where the tarmac scene had a better ending.

  1. You looked up at me on the rooftop. I knew what was coming, you knew what was coming. You had never seen me cry, but how could I not? “You could,” you said, and that was the exact moment when I realised. _I love you._ But instead, I told you what I thought you needed to hear. To keep you safe. I reached out my hand, imagining for one final moment that I could finally, finally bridge that gap between us. I would do it all again to keep you safe.  
  

  2. “I don’t mind,” you said, and then, “Am I pretty?” I wanted to say yes, to say it then. _Yes, yes, yes_. My body was buzzing, but the niggling reminder of her, of why we were even doing this in the first place… “To be honest, I’d love to have gone further,” I said, or the client said. I forget which.  
  

  3. “Today you sit between the woman you have made your wife and the man you have saved - in short, the two people who love you most in all this world.” I had to include her, had to keep it buried. We had all the time in the world to love each other, but I left for too long. This was the closest I ever came to telling you. I think you knew. You hugged me and I let you. It was the most we had ever shared, and it will never be enough.  
“It’s always you.” And I meant it. And, “We wouldn’t do that, would we - you and me? We would never do that to John Watson.” And I meant it. I’ve let you down, more than once. It’s likely I’ll do it again. But loving you has been my greatest pleasure.  
Our eyes met following the news of your new adventure; the one without me. Your face betrayed you for the briefest moment, and I thought, ‘what if?’ but I was brought back to earth when you took your hand off my neck and danced with your new wife. I left soon after and you never followed, and the ‘what if?’ came with me.  
  

  4. I made sure you remembered why you loved her. I served her to you on a silver platter when all I wanted was to snatch you away for myself. _I love you I love you I love you_. I have never been a selfless man, you know that, but I could never live in a world where John Watson didn’t smile anymore, so I let her have you. The choice was easy, even though it tore through me, tore my flesh like the bullet she gave me. I even killed for that choice, and a part of me hoped you’d see it then. _I love you I love you I love you_ _,_ my murder said.  
  

  5. “John, there’s something I should say; I’ve meant to say always and then never have.”  
 _I love you._  
“Since it’s unlikely we’ll ever meet again, I might as well say it now.”  
 _I love you._  
“Sherlock is actually a girl’s name.”  
 _I love you._  
  
And  
“I love you, too,” you said. It made me want to live and die all at once. The words we had never spoken, confirmed at last. My entire existence before that moment was meaningless. I smiled at you, though my eyes teared up. You nodded, ever the stoic soldier, my John, and repeated, “I love you, too,” even though you knew I heard you. I shook your hand because there was nothing else I could do. The moment I stepped on that plane, I allowed my heart to give in. I remembered Bart’s, the words I never said. I remembered every opportunity, every way I showed you what I meant without ever voicing it.  
Suddenly, the phone call.  
Suddenly, the plane turning back.  
Suddenly, seeing your blonde-grey head and her red coat approaching.  
Suddenly, existence starting up again.  
“I love you, John.”




End file.
